Gold Stripes
by FantasyCrest
Summary: There are many words that could describe Chloe Bourgeois but no one really sees how there can be more to one that what one sees and that all it takes to see gold is something Miraculous.


Gold Stripes

There were many words people could use to describe Chloe Bourgeois foremost among them being pushy, arrogant, rude, conceited, and an all-around brat in general so most people think she lacks true compassion or any other emotion that didn't fall under the anger and greed category or somewhere between those two.

But oh how wrong they were. When you peeled past the arrogance, the title of the mayor's daughter, daddy's dear little girl, and such you could see another Chloe.

One who was aware of the world, could see things clearly, and was a decent human being. The first time anyone had ever seen it outside her family was when she was five years old.

Her father was meeting with another man for some important deal or other. It turns out though the other man had to bring his son along and Chloe needed to be a good hostess.

Being the mayor's daughter Chloe knew she had to be polite and such from an early age but the truth was she was excited as this was the first kid she had ever met that wasn't really a guest.

So as she waited in the lobby of the hotel Chloe wondered what the kid would be like. Then the door opened and Chloe smiled. She didn't really pay attention as the grown-ups said what her tutor called pleasantries Chloe's eyes were glued to the boy near them.

He had blonde hair and bright green eyes and Chloe felt her heart skip a beat.

As the adults continued to talk Chloe stepped up to the boy and said "hi I'm Chloe."

The boy drew his gaze from the floor and looked at her shyly saying "I'm Adrien."

The adults spoke up from above drawing the kids' attention Chloe didn't really pay much attention to the other man only her daddy as he said to take Adrien up to her room for a little while.

Chloe nodded and took Adrien by the hand and practically dragged her up to her room.

The two amused themselves with small talk until a plate of chocolate chip cookies and pitcher of cold milk with cups arrived.

Chloe noted with amusement the way Adrien's eyes lit up at the sight of the sweets.

As the two ate Chloe watched with a small smile as he devoured the sweets. As the last cookie was eaten Adrien got chocolate on his face and Chloe giggled.

Adrien finally realized the mess he made and Chloe smiled handing him a napkin and with a giggle she said "it's alright they are pretty good. Daddy ordered them from some bakery in the city."

Adrien gave a shy smile as he finished wiping his face "yeah they were pretty good" he said in a low voice.

"Oh I'll have to get the name of the bakery then if you like them that much." A voice said from the door.

Chloe and Adrien jumped to their feet as Adrien said with what had to be the most emotion she had seen from him "Mom!"

Chloe turned her attention to the gorgeous woman who walked into the room and said to Chloe "hello young lady, I'm Mrs. Agreste." The pretty woman then proceeded to dazzle Chloe with the most stunning smile she had ever seen.

"WHEE!"

Chloe watched with a slight giggle as Adrien went up and down on the swing set. It had been a year since the two had met and they were having a play date in the park.

Chloe watched as Adrien went up and down she didn't see much fun in them nowadays but she could see why he did considering how much of an ice cube he called home lately. If it wasn't for his mother he'd probably be sad all the time.

As Chloe thought of the amazing woman she turned to look at her where she sat on a park bench. Chloe knew she had been very sick recently and this was one the few days she left her bed recently. As Chloe looked at her she watched as Mrs. Agreste brushed some of her hair letting it frame her face and causing the clip in her hair to flash in the sunlight.

Chloe's eyes were drawn the feather shaped ornament, it reminded her of a fan and was beautiful. It looked like bird fathers with spots in shades of blue and each feather was separated by a line of gold. Like stripes.

Then Chloe looked at Mrs. Agreste, and was puzzled at the way she was glancing sideways.

 _If I didn't know better_ Chloe thought to herself _I'd swear she was listening to someone talk but they'd have to be hiding in her hair for that to happen?_

Just then Mrs. Agreste's eyes moved to look at a still watching Chloe and she smiled and waved Chloe over.

As the young girl walked over Mrs. Agreste smiled but there was something tired about it.

"Are you okay Mrs. Agreste?" Chloe asked.

Adrien's mom said "I'm well enough sweetie but…" She looked at Adrien who still going back and forth on the swings "I need a favor from you, a promise really."

Chloe blinked "what is it?"

Mrs. Agreste said "I need you to look after Adrien, I'm worried what may happen to him later. I… I don't know if I'll be around much longer and my husband may… and Adrien will be…" The older woman trailed off and stared before looking at Chloe.

Chloe felt a slight chill go down her spine at these actions though being so young she could not name why but she met Mrs. Agreste's gaze as she said "so I need you to be there for Adrien alright?"

Swallowing by sheer instinct Chloe said more than a little scared "don't worry; I'll look after him I promise."

The moment was then interrupted by Adrien's shout and Chloe spun around and after Mrs. Agreste nodded she ran over to her eager friend.

Chloe sighed from where she sat in class. She just wanted the school day to be over already so she could hang out with Adrien from the texts she's been getting he sounds like he's going crazy in the prison called the Agreste manor.

Chloe sighed again ever since his mom died Adrien's been doing OK but she knew he was unhappy and Chloe felt like she hadn't been keeping her promise.

Chloe looked at her classmates and even from the edge of the interaction Chloe felt involved somehow. Chloe mused on that notion _maybe I could see if Adrien would like to try public school? I'll ask him._

Suddenly their teacher called for their attention and as the class gave it they watched as the teacher announced "we have a new student joining us today."

As everyone looked to the door they observed a girl walk in and for some reason she couldn't explain Chloe felt a scowl come to her face at the sight of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

And just like that Chloe became a bully in school life. Her classmates had always known her as bossy but now it was just so much worse and even Chloe herself didn't understand why Marinette brought this out in her.

I mean it's not like she was much compared to Chloe Bourgeois. She was the daughters of bakers and sure she had some talent (she'd seen her designs one day) but who was she to likes of her? It was strange for this sort of thing to even be getting this reaction.

So really Chloe didn't know why Marinette made her act this way… that is until picture day arrived.

Chloe was standing in line with her classmates waiting for her turn for an individual portrait and she looked at Marinette and she froze, staring wide eyed as she realized.

Marinette had Mrs. Agreste's smile.

The only person who had it now was Adrien and to see Marinette have it was galling to Chloe.

On some level Chloe could realize she was being unfair but this annoyed her to no end. And just like that Chloe's bullying went on perhaps even more strongly.

Life went on in this manner for a few more years as Chloe tried her best to help Adrien break out of prison so to speak while busy squashing the bug to her who had stolen Mrs. Agreste's smile.

Then finally just before the new school year started she had gone to her father for help in getting Adrien into public school and had succeeded and she told Adrien that if his dad changed his mind, sneak out.

By coincidence as the school year started her whole class was still together (one might call it a miracle how that worked out) but in addition to Adrien they also had a new student and Chloe did not like her.

Although that could be due to the fact that Alya had no problem standing up to her.

Then Paris was introduced to actual magic when one of Chloe's classmates became a monster and Paris learned of its new terror, Hawk Moth and its equally new defenders Ladybug and Cat Noir.

And Chloe became an instant fan of the two which was hardly surprisingly after they saved her life, what she did not become a fan of was the fact that with their arrival came a friendship between Marinette and Alya along with Marinette suddenly growing a spine.

And just like that things changed for Chloe she wasn't getting her way as much she used to and on some level Chloe realized she had sort of lost Adrien despite her best efforts.

He had gained a friend in Nino and Alya and Marinette were getting pretty close too which was bad for Chloe since she saw how Marinette had fallen for him like a good portion of Paris's female population had. And what's more Adrien had no problem being curious about her due to her talents and access to sweets.

But still life went on and they dealt with the new ways of the world as it happened but then Lila arrived, and Chloe had felt jealousy hit her like a storm.

When Volpina arrived and vanished everyone talked about it and yet strangely enough no one seemed to connect the new Miraculous wielder with Lila and yet Volpina hadn't been seen again.

But then she, Marinette, and Lila had gotten into a three way fight and the action had sent Lila away in tears, seen Marinette a triumphant victor, and in the aftermath Sabrina had abandoned her and somehow Chloe knew she wasn't going to forgive her this time no matter what she said or did.

Then the school had come under attack by Volpina displaying powers she hadn't shown this time along with a different attitude. One that was dark and ugly as she went on a rampage and took the entire school hostage.

It was rather terrifying seeing Marinette lying unconscious on the ground and Volpina's staff aimed at Chloe.

Then help arrived as a green object hit Volpina and sent her staggering backwards.

Everyone's wide eyes gazed upon the attacker, a frail yet powerful old man. He had goggles on over a mask like Ladybug and Cat Noir's in addition to a hood that looked to be made of spandex that flowed into a suit like theirs as well in shades of green and a few browns. With a steady if slow motion the man caught the object which had struck Volpina and now settled on his right arm by magic and was revealed to be a shield shaped like a turtle shell.

As Volpina glared daggers at the old man he said calmly "as you are now, you're an insult to everything the wielder of the Fox Necklace is supposed to be and as Jade Turtle I will not allow it. But do not fear young lady beyond the Akuma I will save you!"

Jade Turtle bared his shield and charged. Mayhem proceeded to run riot through the school and in the confusion Marinette vanished from sight and Adrien seemed to have vanished too not that it mattered as Chloe was running for it.

It took most of the day but eventually Volpina was dealt with again and everything regained normalcy or what little Paris could get from it.

And yet much to Chloe's astonishment or perhaps indignation no one went postal on Lila over the Akuma thing like all of the other victims had dealt with one way or another even her.

Then much to Paris's astonishment the next time an Akuma attacked Jade Turtle appeared once more to help them out.

But it wasn't the same Jade Turtle they'd seen before. The man that now stood with Paris's dynamic duo was younger his complexion slightly darker and he had a different air about him.

Alya went postal about the new hero in class and Chloe didn't think he was much to Ladybug even if he was pretty good.

Then one day in class everyone found out about all the lies Lila had been telling and Chloe reacted accordingly squishing her into the dirt and yet surprisingly Volpina didn't show up.

Instead a new Akuma attacked one wielded a wrecking ball and was lousing about being fired for not being capable of doing his job anymore and was using his wrecking ball to trash stuff.

So as "Wrecker" dealt out more damage to Paris the heroes set out to intervene. However they hadn't much long. The ball he swung around was a chain and none of the heroes could get close enough without risking serious harm magic or no.

As it stood there was no chance of getting near them without the weapon half killing them at least.

However, to those watching something strange happened from nearby the Akuma. Right behind it there was flicker of orange and then vanished. But it still attracted the Akuma's attention making him look but nothing was there.

Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Jade Turtle tried to charge but the Akuma warded them off. Then there was a flicker again and the Akuma looked but no one was there. He turned around and someone was suddenly in his face and it was with wide smiles that the trio gazed upon Volpina whose staff end was now at its throat in a second Cat Noir was at the Akumas side and had the object in his hands and smashed and Ladybug lashed out with her yo-yo.

As magic surged out over Paris Ladybug raised Volpina's arm up and cried "and the victor is Paris's newest superhero, Volpina!"

Alya who was again livestreaming ran up to them and began to question them and the trio confirmed that she was a true Miraculous wielder this time.

Strangely enough the name Lila was never brought up as a matter of fact it never crossed anyone's mind even Chloe.

All everyone could talk about was Paris's newest star.

But of course bright lights cast dark shadows and Hawk Moth responded to this in a very flashy way. Citizens of Paris everywhere heard and felt the explosion and Paris couldn't understand why it had been the home and business of some old man living alone though for reasons Chloe didn't understand Marinette, Adrien, Nino, and Lila all seemed to be horrified when the news aired in class.

Then much to everyone's astonishment Hawk Moth himself appeared around the Eiffel Tower and he had some very strange objects with him, a few old books and a strange box.

Then dark storm clouds swept over the skies as everyone could feel the magic permeating the air. Through news reports they watched as hundreds of sparkling white butterflies fluttered about the landmark with their white glow at odds with the dark scenery.

Then from the box near Hawk Moth, light shone beneath the lid before it burst open on a hinge and two spheres of light rose and they began to spin around chasing each other one a vivid blue, the other a bright yellow.

Hawk Moth then said "with the power of the Peacock and Bee Miraculous added to my own all of Paris will become Akuma then the remaining four Miraculous will join mine and supreme power will be mine!"

Chloe vaguely remembers anarchy breaking out and what looked like a rainbow engulfing the Eiffel Tower before the two comets that she guessed were the stolen Miraculous flew out over Paris before vanishing.

It took a week more or less before Paris returned to normal from that admittedly big scare.

Of course Hawk Moth couldn't wait just a bit longer before theorizing the city after the big battle.

He had gotten to a martial artist or something who was on a rant about discipline and was more less locking people into frozen tai chi positions and his name was Tai Freezer.

Jade Turtle, Cat Noir, and Volpina had already been frozen and Ladybug was on the ropes.

Then just as Tai Freezer was about to hit Ladybug a strong breeze rushed across the plaza in front of the Louvre and someone kicked Tai Freezer aside.

From where she was hiding and watching the new feed Chloe gazed with wide eyes at the young maiden that stood before them all.

She was dark skinned and had brown hair and eyes tucked behind a vivid blue mask. She wore a bodysuit the same design similar to Ladybug's but hers had a small thin cape reminiscent of feather attached to her back in shades of blue, green and gold. In one hand was an ornate fan styled in the same fashion as her cape but looked like it was made of stained glass. The light reflected off the jeweled pin in her hair that looked like her fan and cape.

As Chloe stared she had a nagging feeling like déjà vu about her.

The wielder of the Peacock Miraculous cried out to Tai Freezer "your plan ends here villain! I am Aqua Breeze and am here to hand you your butt."

The battle ended pretty quickly as Tai Freezer couldn't even touch her. This heroine had some sort of wind powers that supported her and whirled around her making her an incredible acrobat.

And since Tai Freezer couldn't grab her it was only a matter of time before Ladybug and Aqua Breeze beat him and restored the city to normal.

But just because Paris was normal didn't mean things would be normal for Chloe.

When she walked into the courtyard she saw it from the get go Adrien and Marinette were sitting on a bench looking pretty cozy and from nearby Nino and Lila watched with satisfied looks.

Chloe scowled and moved to stop this before an arm reached out and stopped her by grabbing her. Turning Chloe faced Alya who met her with a stern glare.

"You are not ruining this girl. I am not putting up with your me, me, me attitude this time. Those two are made for each other and together they will be if I have anything to say about it."

Chloe looked back at the new couple and though it killed her to admit she could see they **were** perfect for each other, maybe on some level Chloe knew that and that's why she tried so hard to keep them apart.

And then Marinette did it. She smiled the smile and Chloe felt anger surge up as a white hot flame. She turned to face Alya to begin a war and stopped seeing something glint in her hair.

It was a hair clip reminiscent of bird feathers. _Where have I see that before?_ Chloe wondered.

It took a moment before she placed it. Chloe's eyed widened as she realized she had seen Mrs. Agreste wear it but that wasn't the only place she had seen it.

Paris's latest guardian Aqua Breeze had worn it.

Suddenly Chloe realized that Volpina had been an Akuma formed by Lila, why shouldn't a Miraculous wielder be the same?

Chloe looked at Lila and saw the pendant she wore looked different then before and then she looked at Nino and noticed the bracelet over his wrist band.

And then she looked at Adrien and Marinette and noticed them, really noticed them for the first time.

In particular a white ring and a pair of black earrings, Chloe turned to Alya and took in her wearing the hair clip.

The memory of Mrs. Agreste and that day in the park came back at full force. As puzzle piece fully formed but not put together whirled through her mind Chloe felt like she couldn't breathe and it had never been anything like this before.

Finally Chloe moved and it wasn't what Alya had been expecting. Chloe tore herself from Alya's grip and ran out the front door leaving Alya to stare.

"What was that?" Alya asked the air emptily. That was not what anyone might have expected.

As soon as Chloe reached the hotel she fled to her rooms and just stayed put there. She paced back and forth not sure of what to do.

Nothing made sense, she felt like she couldn't see anything in front of her. Countless words and images flashed in her mind. Peacock. Alya. Mrs. Agreste. Nino. Turtle. Fox. Volpina. Lila. Mr. Agreste. Marinette. Smile. Adrien. Friend. Promise.

Finally in reaching the end of this current phase of her freaking out, she threw herself down on her lounge chair and covered her face with one arm and just plopped her other arm out beside her.

Where her hand struck an object, the action making her look at the object.

Chloe frowned and picked it up, it was a little octagonal box with an oriental design.

"What is this?" Chloe asked. She knew she had never seen anything like this before.

She opened the box and barely had time to see what was inside before a gold light swelled up from inside like water before bursting out like a comet before it formed a gold orb before her.

When it faded something hovered in place.

It was a strange thing with a dominantly yellow body, it had a furry collar for its upper torso, black legs, arms, and antennae. It had three black markings on its head and two on its rear with dark blue eyes. It looked like a bee yet different.

"Hi there!" It finally said in a high pitched female voice.

Chloe shrieked.

It had been a whole day since the big reveal at school and no one had seen Chloe which was good and bad. As no one really know what was gonna happen?

But then an Akuma showed up and such thoughts beyond the fact it hadn't been Chloe again became trivial.

The Akuma was called Cold Runner he was apparently something of an ice salesman a lack of sales closed his business down and he was upset about it. As an Akuma he could create ice with a gesture and was fond of making walls.

On some level the heroes were wondering if Hawk Moth was actually getting better at this by directing them himself with minute by minute instructions since they were never this good before.

The situation was pretty bad since Cat had already used Cataclysm and had retreated to recharge.

Meanwhile Volpina and Aqua's abilities were useless in this scenario and while trying to figure something out but had gotten caged.

Jade himself was half frozen in a block of ice and was chipping away at it so it was just Ladybug in the fight currently and she doubted Lucky Charm would have any real use at the moment.

Then the worst luck as Ladybug slipped and a block of ice materialized above to crush her. But then good luck came shining through once more as something colored a bright yellow came zooming down and there was a whoosh as the block crumbled to pieces as something sliced it down the middle and broke it up.

When the smoke cleared everyone present stared.

The figure was around the heroes' height, with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail held in place with a comb that resonated with magic. She had on a vivid yellow mask with a black border that had blue goggles like lenses on it covering her eyes. She wore black boots and gloves and her bodysuit was dominantly yellow save for the black stripes that looped around her lower legs and the furry collar the same color around her neck. On her back rested a yellow oval shaped device with two black slits on the left and right sides. Her right hand held a black rapier resembling a bee's stinger.

The Akuma growled "who are you?!"

The woman tossed her pony tail back and said "I'm Gold Stripes, the wielder of the Bee Miraculous."

The girl looked at a smiling Ladybug and behind the mask the girls eyes shifted at the sight of the smile.

But Gold Stripes turned back to the Akuma who said "so you think another hero can stop me when the others have failed when I've got this to protect me?" With a gesture he summoned more walls of solid ice to guard him on all sides.

Gold Stripes showed him scorn "it's so cute you think that snow fort of yours can keep you safe."

For the slits on the device on her back appeared clear objects and it soon became apparent what they were when they vibrated at high speeds and her boots lifted off the ground. The device was like a jet pack from a cartoon.

Holding her rapier before her gold light swirled around and concentrated on her tool turning into a lance made of light as Gold Stripes cried "Shining Sting!"

She shot forward on her wings and like a cannonball went right through the ice walls and was in the face of the Akuma in three seconds flat and before it could react she had the item severed from it with her rapier.

"Ladybug catch!" She called as she tossed her the item. As Ladybug's cries of her invoking her talents rang out Chloe observed in the ice's reflection as one of the black stripes on her comb turned white.

Then as red and black magic surged through the area Gold Stripes seized her chance.

As the magic finished restoring everything Ladybug turned around to thank their new ally and stared again. The only one went present with them was herself, Jade, and the Akuma.

Gold Stripes was gone.

Meanwhile back in the hotel Gold Stripes had just finished sneaking back into her rooms and powered down in a swirl of gold and black magic and Chloe Bourgeois caught her Kwami as she materialized before her.

"You okay Bumble?" She asked and the Kwami nodded bright blue eyes staring back up at her.

Placing the creature on the counter she slid a honey jar over and said "here ya go! Just mind it as you need to watch your weight." Bumble nodded at this happily as she ate.

Chloe meanwhile grabbed her phone as she said "now I'm gonna call my dad and see where that pizza is now that the ice is gone."

As she dialed on her phone though Chloe looked at a mirror, pausing, and tilted her head slightly as she considered the comb in her hair which now looked so different when not powered by magic.

Chloe sighed and shook her head and went back to dialing.

The next day Chloe was sitting alone in class scrolling on her phone when she paused as she felt someone staring at her.

Glancing sideways she looked at Nino who was gawking at her or more accurately what was in her hair.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that he knew about the Miraculous and hence his reaction to her wearing it.

Class began and when she felt the presence intensify as class going she glanced sideways and confirmed it.

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino, and Lila were all staring at her somewhat aghast.

As soon as lunch came around Chloe got up and made to flee the classroom she had just reached the door when a familiar hand and voice reached out stop her and said "hey Chloe you wanna hang out for lunch? I wanna talk to you about some stuff."

No one could have guessed what would have happened next.

Several different thoughts raced through Chloe's mind and one would expect them to be mostly happy but how wrong you were as the most obvious one was downright ugly.

 _You filthy hypocrites. After that's happened recently now that I've become one of you, now you wanna socialize with me!_

SMACK!

Adrien reared back letting go of the arm holding Chloe as her arm was still out from when had slapped him with a pink mark on his face.

From where they were standing no one could see Chloe's face or could even guess what was going through her mind. Everyone just looked at her in shock.

 _I can't do this._

Chloe then proceeded to shock everyone by removing the comb from her hair letting it fall down before she shoved it into Adrien's chest. "Here you can have it."

Chloe didn't want to think about what may have happened to Bumble and as she made to leave she said "I don't want to see you or anyone" she said placing emphasis on the word anyone "else or I'll call my dad regardless of **who** they are!"

She stomped out the room and by pure luck Marinette was the only one to notice something about Chloe.

 _Were those tears in her eyes?_

Chloe fled back to her rooms at the hotel once more and she just flopped down onto the bed and just let herself lay there.

Her dad eventually came in to lecture her but when he saw her behavior he frowned and simply let her be.

Eventually though Chloe stopped lying there and got up and decided to reach for her phone. Only her to realize it was in her purse which also wasn't there.

She face palmed as she realized she left it as school.

"Oh God…" Chloe moaned aloud.

 _That will be a perfect excuse for them to visit_ Chloe realized.

And sure enough it was about an hour after the school day had ended. Soon enough a bell rang and Chloe answered the staff member over the intercom.

"Yes?" Chloe asked.

"Miss Bourgeois, there are some classmates of yours here with your purse you seem to have left at school today."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was gonna happen next. If she didn't talk to at least one of them their alter egos would show up and granted if it came down to it she would have her daddy make them leave and turn them into vigilantes. Although on some level she didn't want to do it but she would however if she could solve this by seeing them, she would.

However Chloe felt like she could only deal with one of them _so who should it be?_ She wondered.

 _Alya? No._

 _Nino? Nope._

 _Marinette? No!_

 _Adrien? HELL NO!_

 _Lila? ...Maybe._

After a few seconds the blonde girl sighed. "You can send Lila and **only** Lila up. And she better have my purse with her."

And with that Chloe waited for Lila to show up as the girl in question readied her phone so that way the others could eavesdrop on what was being said.

Lila barely touched the door before it opened to reveal a Chloe braced for battle who held out her purse with one hand.

Lila hesitated but handed the strap of her purse. Chloe then proceeded to shut the door but only got partway before Lila threw herself at the door and Chloe's blue eyes met Lila's brown ones.

"Chloe please can we talk?" Lila pleaded.

The other girl frowned but said "fine."

Chloe let her in and the two simply sat down in silence before Chloe arms crossed and with a scowl said "well?"

Lila eventually said "you didn't need to give your Miraculous back. If it came to you then you're the best choice for it."

Chloe snorted "I'll pass I can barely tolerate Marinette and Adrien being lovey dovey in normal life, super hero mode is somehow worse."

She'd seen the photo of Ladybug and Cat Noir kissing on Alya's blog last nght.

"It's not that bad." Lila protested.

Chloe tossed her a look and Lila shrugged. "And besides Bumble said the Bee Miraculous's powers are based around being a team player and I am no drone." She said in a rush before going on to say "besides I'd probably fail at that too." Chloe grimaced as the words left her mouth. She had **not** meant to say that.

Lila turned a curious look towards Chloe "what do you mean?"

Chloe gave her a look as she wondered _am I really gonna bare my soul to a liar, but then who would believe her anyway?_

Chloe let out a puff of air before saying "it all goes back to when Adrien and I first met. Things were OK but then his mom came along and we became good friends. And Adrien's mom was… amazing." Chloe said simply "and she has this beautiful smile."

"But then she got sick, and before she died she made me promise to look after Adrien as best as I could. So time went on, she died, and I did the best I could. Then Marinette came along and I treated her badly with no clue to the reason why something in her just provoked it in me and it took me a while to see why I disliked her but I found the reason why and it is ridiculous and simple."

Chloe looked at Lila and said "she has Mrs. Agreste's smile and that upset me more than you can imagine. What's more when I finally managed to do right by Adrien and get him into regular school and out of that prison he calls a home I find him rejecting the friend he's had all his life and what's more the people to give him what he wants is Marinette the girl I dislike and the rest of you. Not me in the least, and it is clear I've failed my promise."

Lila had tears in her eyes and before she could do anything else Chloe grabbed Lila's arm and dragged her to the door.

"There you have your answer now you can get out and for the record you may wanna examine Adrien's family as I think Mrs. Agreste may have been the Aqua Breeze before Alya."

"Wait, what?!"

Slam! And just like that Chloe shoved Lila out the door and closed it.

Chloe sagged against the door and wiped her face with her hand and took a breath from all that had just happened a single thought running through her mind.

 _I'm sorry…_

Then Chloe heard the sound of the curtains billowing.

 _Wasn't the window closed?_ She wondered.

Looking cautiously around her room she paused a she caught sight of something on her table. Walking close her footsteps slowed to a halt as with wide eyes she stared down at a little octagonal box with oriental designs on it with a white note next it.

Nothing else could be heard save for the billowing of the curtains and Chloe's breath.

Then eventually she picked the note up and read the message aloud.

"I know you believe you may have failed in a duty given to you and you may yet fail this one. However a team can have many parts, even the queen of the bees has a role and for all there is many types of evil there are many shades of black as well. And even a person with a mostly black heart can have stripes of gold splashed across it. I think you're wrong. Master Fu."

Chloe could only stare at the box.

Meanwhile outside the hotel Lila stepped outside and found only Nino and Alya waiting.

"Where are the others?" She asked.

"Gone" Nino answered "they were both pretty upset by the brouhaha and such and took off dudette."

Lila sighed and Alya scowled.

"This is all Chloe's fault" she snarled as she looked up at the hotel "she is such a brat."

Lila then said "true but she's also hurting here too."

Alya met Lila's firm gaze and conceded the point.

"Everything's a mess bro" Nino muttered.

Things would have stayed like that for a while but then an Akuma showed up with its most dangerous power yet. To conjure up orbs that exploded like bombs.

Upon hearing those words Chloe flew down the fire escape she was lucky the hotel hadn't come down on her yet.

She had just made it down to the lobby when she stopped dead seeing Marinette, Nino, Adrien, Alya, Lila, Sabrina, and Nathanael all there.

Chloe stared dead pan for a second contemplating that this was either bad luck for her and good luck for them and considering who was present that was actually highly plausible.

Lila was the first to say "we were nearby when the Akuma attacked and got shoved in here by a police officer.

Chloe glanced at Sabrina and Nathanael taking in what was else there was to that statement. Then suddenly her dad was in their faces.

"Chloe you and your schoolmates into the service corridor and the basement now."

Before any of them could do any more than speak they found themselves herded along like sheep down a hall way and the mayor opened a door that swung inwards into the hall revealing a set of stairs.

As the group was shoved towards the door a blast threw the kids off their feet and down the stairs slamming the door shut behind them.

As quickly as she was able to Chloe had the flashlight on her phone on and threw herself up at the door and tried to open it but found it bared. Something was blocking it.

"Daddy? DADDY!" Chloe cried.

There was no response from her father.

Numb she stared at the door blankly for a few seconds as he heard the others confirm that Sabrina and Nathanael were out cold the others had been lucky.

Like a zombie Chloe walked down the stairs as the others moved past her and she found herself staring at Sabrina and the flower pin she still wore.

She didn't know what to say or do.

The others voices may as well have taken place in another dimension they felt so far away as she heard them discuss the door and that Cat's powers might not work here.

And finally Chloe's mind snapped into focus as a warmth spread through her body.

Reaching up the motion was silent but somehow Lila was the only one to watch as Chloe pulled off her scrunchie and let her hair down, then she reached for her purse and pulled out a certain box bringing a smile to Lila's face as her eyes lit up.

Securing her ponytail and putting the comb in place a stream of light swirled from the comb and formed an orb that dissolved to reveal Bumble and the Kwami smiled at her partner and they shared a quick hug that made Lila giggle.

A reaction that made Chloe glare and Lila to look away still grinning.

Taking a deep breath Chloe waltzed into the group her Kwami beside her startling them all and said with a dramatic air "whatever I knew you cretins couldn't manage without me. Let's just get this over with, I have a dad to check on and shopping to do."

The others bar Lila just stared at her and Bumble but Chloe just tossed them a look and flipped her ponytail back and moved to look at the door and without looking said "and you better not slow **ME** down."

The reaction was shock for a few seconds and then Chloe could feel Marinette beginning to make that smile but much like the bratty air Chloe was putting on there was something different about it too.

"Whatever you say queen bee." Marinette said as the other Kwamis emerged from hiding. Chloe snorted and then the cries came forth.

"Tikki, Spots On!"

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

"Wayzz, Fins Forward!"

"Kitsu, Ears Up!"

"Regal, Spread Feathers!"

"Bumble, Sparkling Buzz!"

Red, black, green, blue, orange, white, and yellow magical energy spiraled through the air creating something of a rainbow and as it settled six heroes stood in the basement.

Gold Stripes moved first with her rapier poised she leaped forward and she poked holes through the door like a straw through a lid before leaping back.

Then Jade Turtle moved in as shield barred he threw himself at the door with a charge and dented it once and with a second hit the door was down and enough debris moved they could get by.

Gold Stripes was the in the lead and in the air.

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

Ladybug threw the Lucky Charm into the air and red and black magic surged over Paris hopefully healing more than just property damage.

Gold Stripes turned to leave but an orange gloved hand stopped her and the bee themed heroine looked at Volpina.

There was an unspoken question in her eyes.

Gold Stripes simply said "I'll be around."

Volpina said "we patrol at night if you wanna join us."

Cat Noir piped in here agreeing "that would bee purr-fect" as the others groaned.

Gold Stripes's face was unreadable though her eyes hidden behind blue lenses. "I'll think about it" she finally said and took off.

And Gold Stripes did indeed make up her mind as that night the gold streak that was her zoomed up the Eiffel Tower.

Her dad was fine though he did have killer headache apparently magic couldn't solve everything.

As she reached the highest point of the tower and stood on the very tip of it at the top Gold Stripes thought about what tonight may bring particularly the conversation about Alya's predecessor and where that train of thought may lead regarding Adrien's dad and what he may or may not have.

Gold Stripes paused as she realized that even still she was looking out for him and maybe…

 _Maybe I've kept my promise after all?_ Chloe realized.

Gold Stripes smiled and yet it was a different smile not seen since two kids had once met and laughed and ate chocolate chip cookies.

Surveying the rooftops Gold Stripes was startled a bit when her mask revealed itself to have a binocular function and soon enough was she spotted a surge of green skating across the roofs.

Chloe leapt off the Eiffel Tower taking flight and as she soared over Paris at night her ponytail flashed and sparkled billowing in the wind behind her making the strands look like stripes of gold.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So ladies and gents this that one one-shot I told you I was working on before I was forced to halt work. For the record I wrote this LONG before the spinning top reveal and this one shot works still so I'm keeping it as is. Another reason for its delay was I was waiting on something else but my desire to finally get it posted won out so here it is granted I'll probably do an update when the times comes but meh. I really hope you like this as I was worried about timing both in the space of events as well as it the events happening themselves but as I said again it works. I want to thank those who I consulted before/during writing this on things for the help. Eventually I will do a follow up piece to this one covering at least four of the events I didn't cover here as well as one particular event beyond the one-shot but for now this is it. I'm not sure the summary I'm using works but meh. I really hope you like this. I do not own Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir in any way, shape, or form. Reviews welcome.**

 **Update 9/20/2016: so this is just me adding a cover which was drawn by eveemaster999 and be seen online at DA and here to a point. I also took the chance and edited it so I created more breaks and corrected grammar.**


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